In short: Intimate and enlightening introduction to true tea appreciation.
Lately, it feels like the topic of tea finds its way into more and more of our foodie conversations. Whether it’s the latest trendy tea bar or that “je ne sais quoi” in a dessert that turns out to be a delicate tea infusion, the current renaissance of tea is hard to ignore. As foodies, we do our level best to keep a finger on the pulse of all facets of the food and drink scene, so finding ourselves at a Tea Angle Specialty Tea Workshop is par for the course.
With all the growth in the tea space, there’s a lot of parallels with the coffee industry emerging. On one hand, you have a segment pushing into a myriad of blends, infusions, and flavourings, and on the other, you have those striving for a purer expression of the drink. Tea Angle is in the latter camp. Dawn and Matt, who head up Tea Angle, have a passion for authentic Chinese teas, specifically. Their adventures in sourcing some of the finest Chinese Oolong teas has taken them into the heart of China’s Phoenix Moutains in Guangdong province, where generations old family farms cultivate teas on a more personal scale. Father and son operations that carefully work the land of their ancestors to produce teas that have their roots in the distant past. We’re here to not only experience the rewards of that simpler approach, but also gain a little wisdom in the art of tea appreciation.
An eclectic gathering of tea lovers encircle the table as Dawn and Matt start us on our crash course in Phoenix Dancong Oolong teas. It’s clear from those in attendance, that the love of tea spans all walks of life and that a chat over a good cup of tea is still one of the best ways to make friends.
After an introduction into finer points of the centuries of Chinese tea history and traditions, the hands-on tea experience begins. Tea trays equipped with tasting cups, Gai Wan (a small lidded saucer), and bamboo tongs, are our tools for the evening. It’s a new way of interacting with tea and makes the experience even more immersive. This is not a passive tasting session; you’re encouraged to learn all the aspects of extracting the subtleties of the teas.
After sharing a few giggles on the art of holding and pouring with the Gai Wan, we work our way through the infusion of a variety of different teas. A green tea and two Phoenix Dancong Oolong teas are our selections for the evening, and it strikes all of us how the flavour profiles of even teas that are from the same farm, but picked on different months, can vary so much. Other influences like roasting period and infusion time can only truly be appreciated in an experience like this.
What adds a real dimension for me is that back story to these treasures from the deep mountains of China. As we’re infusing and sampling one of the teas, Matt and Dawn explain how it is the product of a good-natured expression of generational difference. Matt relays that during the roasting of the tea, the farmer’s son insisted on a longer, more robust roast for this batch. The more traditional father continued to challenge the wisdom of his young protégé and implored his son to adhere to tried and tested roasting rituals. The product of this age-old tension between generations is a tea that has been transformed into a vastly different experience and a clear example of how an artisan can express so much variety from a quality ingredient.
The Tea Angle Specialty Tea Workshop allows you to explore the heart of tea’s history in a way that allows the appreciation of what a complex and versatile resource it is. For far too long, we’ve been lulled into taking the humble tea for granted and relegating it to a pedestrian position as a staple that takes a backseat to much more appreciated indulgences of wine, coffee, chocolate, cheese, etc. Well, it’s time that tea step into the spotlight again and take its rightful place at our tables. Workshops, like Tea Angle’s, and other burgeoning tea-centric experiences, are leading the way in a new era for tea lovers everywhere.
* Coco & Vine were guests of Tea Angle.
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